Obi Fills INEC Form, Asks Politicians: ”What Should Be Our Priority?”

The Presidential Candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, on Monday in Abuja filled the inquiry form of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), as his name is upheld on the Commission’s server, but has a poser for the nation’s political leaders.

Writing on his X handle on Tuesday, Obi asked a very pertinent question to the nation’s political leaders: “What truly should be our priority now as leaders of a Nation?”

The former Anambra State Governor explained that “this question has become necessary given where we are today as a nation and where we are supposed to be.”

While completing my INEC nomination form yesterday, Section E, Question 1 caught my attention. It asks: “Have you ever been adjudged a lunatic or been declared a person of unsound mind?” The answer is either Yes or No. That question got me thinking: Can we, as the political leaders of today’s Nigeria, truly say we are exhibiting characteristics of a sound mind? When our children are being abducted into the bushes, when citizens cannot travel safely on our highways, and when several million Nigerians are uncertain where their next meal will come from; when several billions are being siphoned frivolously through non-existent agencies and projects. In such adverse circumstances as we are, should politics really be our primary preoccupation?

A leadership exercising a sound mind would have convened an emergency meeting of political leaders across various parties and other critical stakeholders to confront these existential challenges facing our nation today. The survival of Nigeria should have been prioritised over the pursuit of political advantage.

Further, in the same Section E, Question 6, was “Have you ever presented a forged certificate to INEC?” Again, the answer is either Yes or No. This raises another important question: Why shouldn’t INEC, in the interest of ensuring that our leaders are exemplary in following the rules and for public confidence in our process, publish the academic certificates and credentials submitted by every candidate seeking elective office? Transparency strengthens democracy and builds public trust.

Nigeria’s problems are too serious for politics as usual. It is time for leadership defined by competence, character, capacity, compassion, and commitment to service. A new Nigeria is possible.